§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the numbers of sufferers from cystic fibrosis in the United Kingdom and of the average numbers being born each year.
§ Mr. John PattenCystic fibrosis occurs in about one in every 2,000 live births. It is estimated that in 1983 in the United Kingdom there were just over 5,000 persons suffering from this condition.
§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether consideration is currently being given to the exemption of sufferers from cystic fibrosis from prescription charges for medicines necessary for the treatment of that disease.
§ Mr. John PattenWe receive regular requests for the addition of cystic fibrosis to the list of medical conditions conferring exemption, just as we receive requests to extend exemption in other ways. In fairness, we cannot take any one request in isolation and to accept them all would cost the National Health Service a considerable amount of money. While, therefore, we have a great deal of sympathy for suffers from cystic fibrosis, we have no plans to amend the list of specified medical conditions.